The Lodge
Designed with the allure of the barn aesthetic, The Lodge, a 400 m² gatehouse, sits against a backdrop of deciduous woodlands at the entrance to a private 100 acre parkland estate in West Sussex. This extraordinary structure with the atmosphere and the quietness of a modern barn takes the traditional barn forward to another place.
It was not surprising that councillors on Chichester council twice threw out the modern proposals for a contemporary barn. The building sits away from the road on a wooded site on the edges of Kirdford near Petworth and to all intents and purposes is invisible to all but trespassers.
On the threshold of light and dark
The Lodge settles against the dark forest tree line, responding to the landscape with few windows to the rear, its façade provides the views. It is completely glazed at ground-floor level allowing the expanse of meadows and sky to bask the interior in daylight and linking the occupants to the outside. But then the bedrooms upstairs have very few views, all except for the main bedroom which has a large picture window, this is a much more introspective space, shuttered and closed, sheltering a more private world. Here the light drops from a crack in the roof into the centre of the building and passes through internal glazed screens, into the stairwell and the bedrooms.
The building has been widely published and received an RIBA Award in 2002 where the Awards Committee noted that;
‘The juries were impressed by this finely crafted private house…. Client, Architect and Contractor worked closely together to achieve a finished product of high quality – the craftsmanship is in tune with the fine materials. The building has integrity, consistency and conviction and could provide beneficial inspiration to mass builders working in the region.’
